1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to knives and, more particularly, to knives having multiple angular cutting positions.
2. Prior Art
In some applications it is desirable to use knives with different angular cutting positions. For example, when hunting it is desirable to use a knife having an angle between the cutting portion of the blade and the handle of slightly less than 180 degrees for field dressing an animal. It is also desirable to use a knife having an angle between the cutting portion of the blade and the handle of slightly greater than 180 degrees for skinning an animal. Prior to the invention disclosed herein, sportsmen often carried two specialized knives to accomplish these two tasks. Of course, the extra bulk and expense of the dual knife system is undesirable, particularly under rugged hunting conditions.
In order to address the need for adjustable blades, prior art knife designs have resorted to interchangeable blades, or to adjustable knives with relatively complex adjustment mechanisms requiring the removal of wing nuts and the like for adjustment or replacement of the blade. Again, in outdoor applications, such mechanisms are undesirable due to the possibility of losing knife parts as well as the difficulty encountered in adjusting the angle of the blade. As a result, most hunters desiring knives having field dressing, skinning or other specialized angular positions continue to carry multiple fixed blade knives in multiple scabbards or multiple folding knives.